Almost half a million Western Australian adults plan to move in the next three years

An estimated 491,000 adults living in Western Australia (WA) indicated they plan to move in the next three years according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

ABS Director of WA State and Territory Statistical Services, David Waymouth, said the 2012 WA Housing Motivations and Intentions Survey collected information about current and future housing intentions of Western Australian adults.

“Most Western Australians would like to live in a separate house, with 73 per cent of those planning to move within WA in the next three years preferring a separate home to a townhouse, flat, unit, or apartment,” Mr Waymouth said.

“Home ownership is also important, with 65 per cent of Western Australians who plan to move within WA over the next three years showing a preference to own their home rather than rent," he said.

The survey also looked at 'future movers', that is, adults who indicated that they plan to move in the next three years.

Just under half of all future movers had lived in their current home for less than two years. A further 24 per cent had lived in their current home for between two and five years. 87 per cent of future movers planned to stay within WA. A small proportion (9 per cent) planned to move interstate or overseas.

Mr Waymouth said the survey also looked at what may influence people when choosing a future house.

"When choosing their future home, just under half of future movers within WA said appearance and layout were factors influencing their decision. A better quality residence was important to 44 per cent.

"42 per cent of future movers within WAindicated familiarity with an area was a strong influencewhen choosing their future location. Both being close to family or friends and access to facilities and services such as shops or schools mattered to 38 per cent.

"People’s priorities when moving home reflected their different stages of life. People in senior households were more likely to choose a home that was smaller (34 per cent) or on a smaller block (27 per cent) than non-senior households.

"People in senior households were more likely than those in non-senior households to indicate being close to family or friends would be important (56 per cent compared with 36 per cent).

"People in senior households were also more likely to consider the geographical features of the location such as beach, hills or river than non-senior households (46 per cent and 29 per cent respectively).

67 per cent of all Western Australian adults were recent movers, that is, they had moved into their current home less than ten years ago.

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